


A Scattered Dream

by Fool



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adventure, Canon Compliant, Gen, Novelization, Plotty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-02-25
Updated: 2010-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-07 13:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fool/pseuds/Fool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A novelization of the prologue of Kingdom Hearts 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_A weak, bluish-white sun sat low in the black sky, behind tenebrous arches that resembled the bones of some ancient behemoth that loomed over a shallow sea the color of dark mercury. There was the faint sound of waves as lighter water washed against the dusky sand._

_There was a blue glow against the side of one obsidian rock. It changed to black and a dark, cloaked figure, his face covered by the hood, stepped out through the glow, its center warping as he did so to the same color as the distant sun for an instant before disappearing._

_"You have arrived," said another, larger cloaked figure resting against another rock, turning his head to face the newcomer as the strange sea rippled in front of him. The newcomer walked over to the larger figure. "I've been to see him..." The newcomer stopped walking. "He looks a lot like you."_

Who are you?

_After a pause, the larger figure replied, "I'm what's left. Or...maybe I'm all there ever was." He turned back to gaze out to the sea._

I meant your name.

_"My name is of no importance," the larger figure said dismissively. He turned to the newcomer again. "What about you? Do you remember your true name?"_

My true name...is...

888

_"Sora?"_

Blue sky. The sun shining high above.

A brown haired boy waking, blue eyes.

Bright light.

A beach, shining, blue water stretching to the horizon.

A girl. He's startled. She laughs. Can't see...

"Give me a break Kai-"

Another boy running. "Giving up already?"

The first boy running.

The girl running?

All of them, sitting on a tree with the sun too low beyond them, sky dark. Shadows everywhere.

"If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?"

Because

Two faces scratched white on stone, in darkness. A star.

Another dream...?

"This world has been connected."

The boy. Scared?

"Who's there?"

Something in the shadows, terrible and familiar and unrecognizable.

"Tied to the darkness."

The girl standing, boy sitting. "Sora, don't ever change." Sun impossibly huge and low in the sky.

"The door has opened..." The second boy standing there dark and hard to see, holding out one hand like beckoning.

To the first boy?

"What?"

Who is reaching out and...

"You understand nothing."

An enormous black thing in the blackness, with glowing yellow eyes.

An open door, the girl, blackness...

"So..ra..."

Falling in darkness.

A flash of white.

888

"Another dream about him...?" a boy said quietly to himself, sitting up, his deep blue eyes pensive in the light. He was wearing a long t-shirt, white with a black collar and sleeves, as well as black shorts.

One wall of the boy's room was made of irregularly shaped and sized shelves that look like they were carved into the terracotta colored material. Most were filled with books, either stacked on their sides or standing up in a row. One of the larger sections had various cardboard boxes stacked inside at odd angles due to the rounded shape of the shelf, and a few smaller colored boxes could be seen among the other shelves. A moon and star motif could be seen around the room. A picture of the crescent moon in the night sky was tacked to one side of the door, a note stuck underneath it, and a line of wooden hangers with stars carved into the rounded ends on the other side. A bag hung from one of them, and a discarded belt dangled from another. And there was a small chair with a star backing and twin crescent-moon armrest next to a table, behind which was a dresser and an end-table with a plant and small alarm clock sitting on top.

The boy had been lying flat on the bed, covers kicked to the foot of the mattress. Now he turned toward the window and kneeled on his bed, reaching out to grab the handles of the huge double window that took up most of the wall next to his bed and pushed it open as the morning ring of the bell resounded through the air. He stared out over the scene before him. The sun lay low in the sky as always, behind the raised train track that ringed the town. As he watched, a small train traveled across the section he could see between the buildings. It looked a bit odd, but he couldn't be sure with the distance and lighting. Wispy golden orange clouds drifted across the pinkish purple sky.

The boy yawned. He changed into his normal clothes, a black t-shirt covered by a white zippered pullover with a red collar and black-trimmed sleeves and multiple pockets, and long pants with a black waist and white legs.

He glanced over at the swirling fishes around a light blue globe at the head of his bed, then to the flashing star atop the rounded three-tiered miniature tower next to the table. It was made of black metal with a different neon pattern on each section - the first the star, the second a double row like tiny windows, the third a large oval with a small triangle at the top and bottom. His friends had bought it for him as a present, and it was his favorite thing in the room. It reminded him of something, though he couldn't remember what, like the half-forgotten memory of a scattered dream.

He glanced at the clock and then hurried out. They'd be meeting at the usual spot, and he didn't want to be late.


	2. The First Day

Hayner was perched on a now-defunct yellow heater, talking and gesturing animatedly to Pence, who was sitting on some discarded boxes, nodding in agreement every now and then. Olette was watching them from her seat on a worn green couch further off. Further still, Roxas was sitting staring at his hands, lost in thought and oblivious to what was going on around him. On the wall behind them was an old welcome poster of a stylized Twilight Town, red on yellowing paper.

"Man, doesn't that tick you off?" Hayner was saying, waving his hands.

"Yeah, that's just wrong," Pence said seriously, nodding in agreement and crossing his arms determinedly.

"Seifer's gone too far this time," Olette agreed, shaking her fists and stomping her feet in the air.

The three of them looked over at Roxas, who was sitting quietly off to the side. He looked up suddenly, realizing they had gone silent, then nodded his head in consideration.

Hayner jumped off the heater and said, "I mean, it's true that stuff's been stolen around town." He crossed his arms and started pacing. "And we've got a score to settle with Seifer and everything." He stopped. "So if he wants to think we did it, I can't really blame him." He clenched his fist. "See...that's not what really bugs me." He shook his fists and began pacing again. "What really bugs me is that he's goin' around telling everybody we're the thieves!" He stopped by Roxas and began throwing his hands around. "Now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the Klepto Club!" He turned to the others, brow furrowed and now yelling. "Have you ever been this ticked off before in your life?" He was now gesturing wildly. "'Cause I haven't. Nu-uh, NEVER!" Roxas sat, watching this without expression, then blinked.

Hayner calmed down.

"Now...what to do," he said, punching his hand. Olette looked like she was about to say something, then stopped, her green eyes looking to her side, where Roxas was sitting. He looked over at her, then down at his feet.

"Uh...well..." he said nervously, fiddling with two ring-like bands, black and white, around two of his fingers.

There was a moment's silence before Roxas looked up. "We could find the real thieves. That would set the record straight," he said, waving his hand for emphasis.

"Hey, that sounds fun!" said Pence, who was now also standing up.

"What about Seifer?" Hayner said, crossing his arms as Pence, convinced, ran off.

"First, we gotta clear our names," Roxas said, standing up. "Once we find the real culprit, everyone will get off our backs."

Hayner groaned doubtfully.

"Oh, no!" Pence cried, looking into a small bag. "They're gone! Our -- are gone!" His eyes widened in surprise as he touched his throat and made various noises. "What...?" he said, looking distraught.

"All our -- , gone?" Hayner said. His eyes widened, and he clutched his throat. Olette put her hands to her mouth, then said worriedly,

"You can't say -- , why not?"

"But you do understand what I'm saying, right? Our -- are gone!"

"Stolen..." Roxas said thoughtfully. Everyone turned to him. "And not just the -- ," Roxas said, facing them. "The word --! They stole it, too!" Roxas said, now getting angry.

"What kinda thief is that? Seifer could never have pulled that one off," said Hayner, crossing his arms.

"Yeah!" Roxas agreed.

"All right," Hayner said, uncrossing his arms. "Time for some recon!" One by one, Hayner, Pence, and Olette ran out the door. Roxas was about to follow, but just as he took a step, the world seemed to lose focus and shift. He fell to his knees.

A voice spoke over the blackness. "His heart is returning. Doubtless he'll awaken very soon."

The next thing he knew he was lying on the ground. He groaned and got up to his hands and knees before completely standing up and brushing himself off.

"Huh?" he said, looking around. He saw Olette standing near the doorway.

"Roxas, c'mon!" she said, heading off. Roxas nodded, and after a second to clear his head, he followed her out the door.

He could see the gang was waiting for him outside on the other side of the square, under the stylized t-shirt-like breastplate sign that marked the armor shop.

"Over here!" Hayner said, waving his arms. Roxas broke into a run to close the distance..

"Let's get this investigation under way," Roxas heard Pence say as he walked up to the group.

"Yo, Roxas," Hayner said in greeting.

"Never thought you'd do such a rotten thing..." Everyone turned to see that it was the Armor Shop owner, Mr. Sanxay, speaking, from his usual place behind the counter of his small shop.

"We didn't steal anything, all right?" Roxas replied emphatically. The shopkeeper looked down.

"I'd like to believe you, but..." he sighed. "Who else would steal that stuff?"

"What stuff?" said Roxas quizzically.

Mr. Sanxay crossed his arms across the three colored stripes of his black shirt and furrowed his brow. "As if you didn't know," he snapped. "Hey, I'm not gonna tell you. Go ask at the Accessory Shop."

The group turned around to look the accessory shop, situated across from the Armor Shop. In contrast to the Armor Shop's plain design, it was gaudy, with enormous, brightly colored plastic mockups of jewelery hanging on the outside of the storefront. The sign above it displayed a painting of a bunch of colorful rings, with glowing orbs set where a gemstone normally was. Roxas had browsed it a few times, but most of the things there were far to expensive for a kid to buy. Not knowing what else to try, they walked over there, where a blond-haired woman wearing a deceptively simple and unornamented blue and purple dress stood behind the counter.

"Go on, Roxas -- ask her," Hayner said. Roxas nodded and walked closer to the shopkeeper, Jemse.

"Oh, hello," she said, looking up from her inspection of the store's wares. "Oh, it's you, Roxas..." Her eyes looked a bit worried and she averted her gaze. "Please don't let me down. You used to be one of my favorite customers."

"I'm not a thief!" Roxas cried out, starting to feel a bit desperate.

"Okay..." Jemse said, not sounding convinced.

"It's no fun having everyone suspecting me, ya know," Roxas said sourly.

"Then you've got to find a way to clear your name," the shopkeeper advised. "The woman at the candy shop is pretty disappointed, too." Everyone turned to the left, where the candy shop was, a neon sign of various candies and treats above the counter. Roxas loved going there if he had the money to spare. The older Mrs. Kemyss, a woman with graying hair, stood at the counter.

"Roxas?" she said when the group came over. "Have you seen my cat around?"

"Er..." Roxas said. He looked up, and saw the cat perched on the roof, her adorable white-furred face looking back at him blandly. She meowed. "She's on the awning." Roxas reached one hand up and cooed, and she leaned her head over the edge to sniff his fingertips, then jumped down to the ground.

"Thank you, Roxas," she said happily as the cat hopped onto the counter and licked her paws.

"Did they steal something from you, too?" Roxas said.

"Oh, my, yes. Something important," Mrs. Kemyss said sadly.

"Just so you know, we didn't do it," Roxas said quickly.

"I believe you," the shopkeeper said, nodding.

"Thanks for that, ma'am," Roxas said, breathing a sigh of relief. "So what did they take from you?"

"My -- ," the shopkeeper replied sadly. "My precious --."

"Looks like the culprit is going around stealing -- ," Hayner said, crossing his arms. Roxas turned around to face him. "And not just -- , but the word -- , too."

"This isn't your average thief..." Pence said thoughtfully, scratching his chin.

Hayner scowled, still trying to find a way for it to be Seifer's fault.

"I wonder if Seifer would know anything about this," Olette chimed in loyally. The gang perked up.

"We gotta talk to him. C'mon, to the sandlot!" Roxas said. The gang ran off towards the sandlot.

888

The sandlot was an area for Stuggle practice, as well as the location of the annual Struggle tournament. Seifer and his gang tended to hang out there all year round, practicing or just loitering importantly and acting better than everyone else. This close to the tournament, they were sure to be there.

And indeed, when Roxas and his friends arrived, they saw Vivi, Fujinn, and Rai standing around a blackboard. The tiny, shadowy-faced Vivi noticed them first on their way over, and jumped in exaggerated surprise, one hand over his invisible mouth before pointing to them. Rai and Fujinn to turned around to glower.

"Thieves," Fujinn said simply, pointing. She always talked in one- or two-letter sentences with little inflection.

"That was low, y'know!" Rai said, fist shaking in the air, displaying enough animosity for two. Vivi merely adjusted his massive yellow hat, the wide brim shrouding his face in darkness and the long top enough to add almost a third to his height.

"Oh yeah?" Hayner said through gritted teeth.

"Nice comeback there, blondie"

Oh boy. Roxas knew that voice. That obnoxiousness could only belong to...Seifer. The older boy was striding arrogantly onto the field toward them from one of the many side-alleys that connected to the sandlot, oozing his typical aloof confidence as his long white coat billowed behind him. His own short-cropped blond hair was barely visible under his large black cap, though that didn't make his choice in name-calling any less questionable.

"What'd you say!?" Hayner snapped.

Roxas growled softly in annoyance.

"You can give us back the -- now," Seifer said flatly, stopping near his friends but far enough off to make it clear he didn't need their support to handle anything.

"Yeah!" Rai said. You're the only ones who would take it, y'know?"

"That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers," Seifer said, pointing to the group and walking around them with more of his casual arrogance, forcing them to keep turning to keep him in sight as he spoke. Roxas was starting to get angry. "So what did you do?" Seifer continued. "Burn it?" He came to a stop back at the blackboard, directly in front of his friends. "Ha, not that we need some -- to know that you're losers," Seifer said, waving his hands in the air broadly.

"Replay," Fujinn said. Seifer laughed.

"Now you're talking!" Seifer said. The gang, or at least Seifer, Fujinn, and Rai -- Vivi, as usual, was silent and off to the side, getting distance from the more aggressive members of the gang -- got into battle stances. Hayner stepped in front and did likewise. "I guess if you get on your knees and beg, maybe I'll let it slide," Seifer said slowly. Roxas had his fists raised as well now, but he put his hands down and walked calmly forward now instead. Hayner reached out to try and stop him, but to no avail. Roxas stopped in front of Seifer as the three all laughed. Reluctantly, Roxas bent down on his hands and knees.

This has to work... he thought. Seifer had crossed his arms. All three of them had a malicious grin on their faces.

"Roxas!" Seifer said.

Roxas's eyes darted from side to side. On the ground in front of him was abandoned practice bat for Struggle fights. Its handle still shined like gold, and the blue wooden bat was still in good shape. It was right by Seifer's feet. He might be able to react in time and grab it first. But it wasn't the only one. To his left, further from Seifer, was an oddly shaped bat, the yellow staff long and bent and the whole thing almost like a staff, with a small blue star on the end instead of a club. He had never really used that type. It didn't hit as hard, and felt weird. He'd seen others pull off some fantastic maneuvers with it, but it required a lot more skill than he had. And over to his right was another bat. At first glance it looked like it would be better, lighter and with a longer club piece. However, he noticed, it had no hand guard. His attacks would hurt more, but his hand probably wouldn't feel too good after a blow either. He had to pick one, and fast...

He knew which one he was supposed to pick - the one with the handguard, the standard Struggle bat he and most other players used, and the one widely considered the best. He was angry and wanted to bash Seifer's head in, but that wasn't any good if the blow jarred his hand so badly he dropped it and let Seifer win the match. It was with the standard bat that he'd had the most experience, and that was the one he had the best chance of actually winning with. Especially when the other type was Seifer's specialty. And yet... Roxas jumped up and bolted right, picking up the long club and swinging it up at Seifer. Seifer jumped back, clearly surprised, before quickly regaining his composure and pulling out his own bat, the same type as the one in Roxas' hand.

Roxas sunk into a crouch, bat readied to swing.

Seifer brandished the bat and pointed it out in front of him, rather than sinking into an actual fighting stance, oozing his usual brand of better-than-thou. Roxas couldn't wait to beat him down.

"Roxas, focus!" Pence said worriedly. Roxas nodded and swung the bat, but Seifer jumped backwards.

"Kneel, loser!" He taunted. Roxas roared and ran up to him, swinging his bat , startled by the sudden attack, just managed to block his first swing, then, off balance, was easily struck by Roxas' next three whacks, ending with a thrust that sent him flying backwards. Seifer winced and touched his stomach, but still held his bat out.

"Come on..." Seifer said, acting like the last attack hadn't fazed him, "quit playing around and fight." Roxas' vision blurred slightly, like it had in the usual place before he'd woken on the ground. Not now! He focused on the fight in front of him.

Roxas growled angrily, running up to Seifer, who was ready this time and blocked his attack then followed up with a hard swing. This just made Roxas madder. Seifer was clearly expecting the blow to stun him a moment, but Roxas thrust the bat almost instantly, shoving Seifer hard in the stomach and knocking him back, then swung in a high arc to strike Seifer hard in the shoulder, almost sending the other boy to his knees. Roxas followed up with a swing, whacking Seifer backwards and then forcing him to stagger back another few steps to catch his balance. Roxas could see some bruises on him now, especially on his torso. Seifer gritted his teeth and got up, once again pointing the bat as Roxas clubbed him again. Seifer, now showing some signs of anger, leaped forward and swung the bat in a wide arc. Roxas just barely parried, and smacked Seifer once again. He could see a small drop of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth now, and he was heavily bruised. Seifer growled and swung twice in quick succession, which Roxas blocked again.

It was interesting, Roxas noted distantly. This was the big bully who had terrorized Roxas's group since they were kids, who was supposed to be one of the best Struggle players. Had his form always been so bad? His moves so slow and sloppy and wild? His guard so open to attack?

Seifer was losing his temper, telegraphing it and his growingly more obvious moves clearly to anyone paying attention. "Hah! You're pathetic!" Seifer said, although there was a bit of doubt in his voice as small droplets of blood slowly oozed from the corners of his mouth. After a low growl he jumped in the air, evidently about to use his famous 'signature move' he was so proud of. It was flashy and imposing, but this time Roxas didn't notice that. Instead he saw the move itself. The high jump left Seifer unable to chance his path, and the wide swing downward may have had force behind it, but it was so slow it was easy to block -

\- He did, raising his bat to catch the blow, the force jarring his whole arm, but he ignored that and swung back as Seifer was recovering, smashing him in the side and knocking him away again, a bit sloppily from the numbing force of Seifer's blow. Seifer growled, leaped, and swung. Roxas couldn't block in time, taking the blow hard in his stomach. Seifer swung again, but this time it was blocked by Roxas, who thrust the bat at Seifer again, who roared in pain this time. He dropped the bat and fell to his one knee, panting and wiping the blood off his mouth. He was defenseless, Roxas could finish...

Rai and Fujinn jumped in front of him.

"Seifer's...not feelin' so hot, y'know?" said Rai in a wobbly voice.

"Tournament decides," Fujinn said flatly, scything her arm through the air in front of Seifer, as if to block any further attacks.

Pence took out his camera, deciding to take a picture of Roxas, who saw and turned around as Pence took the picture. Pence took the camera from his eyes and gave a thumbs-up. Then something else landed in the square next to him. Roxas only had a confused impression of a warped silvery thing with a squarish head and slender body. It jumped up with impossibly fluid movements and swirled around Pence,almost too fast to see. It moved like an acrobat made of elastics; it stretched up, then onto its head, then stretched its legs in front of it. By the time Roxas processed the fact it had snagged the camera as it did so it had already disappeared. Pence looked at his hand where the camera had been and then to where the strange being had gone, dumbfounded.

"What was that?" Hayner said.

A... Roxas started to think automatically, as if the answer was obvious. But his thoughts stumbled. He'd never seen anything like it before, he had no idea what it was. Only...

"It must be the thief!" Olette said. The group chased after it. Roxas went into a dead run. There was something important about the dusky silver thing, like there was something he remembered as he saw it, only he wasn't sure what.

888

Before long Roxas was the only one still in pursuit. It stretched and flowed and spun ahead of them, defying gravity as it bounded wildly from street to rooftop and back again. Now it slither-walked through the gap in the wall to the old walk, and barely slowing, Roxas ducked and followed. It jumped, no, flowed, from tree to tree, bouncing from side to side like it was swimming in the thin air. It was moving as fast as ever but no longer in a straight line, instead going back and forth as if it was waiting for Roxas to catch up. He gave chase and the thing started to bound further into the trees. The thing stretched through the canopy, Roxas following. It seemed to be heading to the old manor. There was no way he'd be able to follow it past there. Roxas put on a burst of speed even as he realized he had no way of catching it in time. As he ran out from the woods he saw the dusky thing was in front of locked gate. In another second it'd ooze through the gate and be out of reach.

Roxas could so clearly imagine it that it took him a moment to realize that it hadn't done that. Instead it was standing there as if waiting. It wobbled from side to side, thin claw-like arms waving in the air, but its feet remained still on the ground.

Why had it stopped?

Stilled, there was something even more familiar about it. Roxas had come to a halt, and now he started to walk slowly toward it.

There were two black bands around each white claw-hand

(They reminded him a bit of the bracelet around his wrist)

where the fingers seemed to have merged together, he saw as he got closer, and a black band down each side, with lights flowing up and then down it. Glowing lights in darkness, white and black, the complex symbol on its head something he'd seen before...

We have come for you, my liege.

"Huh...?" Roxas breathed. "My liege"..? He forgot his question as he watched the dusky thing throwing its head back, motion along the zipper as if..here was no doubt about it, it was unzipping its mouth. The zippers looked disturbingly like pointed teeth, and behind was something dark and jagged. He still had the bat from the fight on the sandlot, and he gripped it tightly. This thing was strange, dangerous. He'd have to be careful.

The dusky thing jumped up impossibly high, stayed there, twirled around in a ball, and came down where Roxas had been standing a moment ago. It leaned back a little and Roxas moved sideways, dodging the blow like he'd seen it a thousand times, and was so surprised by this that he then stopped dead, forgetting about the battle. What was going on...?

He was jarred out of his thoughts as the thing struck him sharply, kicking with its fluid legs. He swung the bat in response, only for the dusky thing to flow around it. The thing stretched itself around Roxas's feet. Roxas jumped out and turned to see its feet trying to impale themselves where his back was. It flowed back to one side of the bushes surrounding the gate, then stalked toward him again in an almost playfully exaggerated walk. He darted around it, just out of range of its sight - did it even have sight? - it did, evidently baffled by his disappearance. Its body contorted, arms flowing downward to take the place of feet and legs raised in the air like arms. While it was confused, Roxas swung the bat, but once again it went right through, like the thing was a bodiless ghost. It flowed away from him, went up, then came down and tried to bite Roxas with its "zippers", and Roxas just barely dodged. He tried swinging again, but nothing happened. It repeated the move, this time staying in the air as it spun, then stretched itself out, feet in the air like it was standing upsidedown and melted hands reaching down to grab Roxas. He jumped back, staring in disbelief. It slid down after a few moments, like it was walking down an invisible wall, then was standing on the ground again. It bounced in front of him a few times, almost like an excited puppy.

What was going on?

Further blows were exactly as useless as the first ones. The battle was slow, the dusky thing lacking anything resembling a fighting will and often spending long moments simply wobbling and slithering over the field, but it could hurt him and he couldn't hurt it. Sometimes he could see the attacks of the dusky thing coming, and other times he was blindsided by them, but nothing he did could make his own hit.

"It's no use..." said Roxas, jumping back. The thing stood there, bobbing to either side.

Suddenly, rings of light swirled around Roxas's bat as it glowed white and turned into...

A giant key?

It looked sort of like a sword; it had a handle with gold guards on each side, with a silvery, blunt blade with a small gray key-like tip. It suddenly jerked under his hands and pointed towards the creature, who did not move.

"What - what is this thing?" Roxas said. There was a long moment as he and the dusky thing stared at each other over the key.

Roxas started to let the key drop, then remembered the fight, sinking into his typical stance.

Would this new thing work any better? He didn't have much in the way of other options, and something about it felt right in his hand, though he was sure he'd never seen anything like it before. He swung the key and this time, he felt it hit, and the thing recoiled, leaping towards a hedge. Roxas jumped towards it, but it jumped away and "flew" over his head. He jumped aside as it landed, and dodged its slashing attack. Roxas then ran forward again, swung the key, and grabbed the thing's arm as it was about to attack, twisting him behind it. Roxas swung vigorously, and the thing flowed away, then flowed forward, twisted around, and tried to impale him with its feet again, which Roxas almost dodged away from, but it flowed closer than he expected, and its claws dug into his back. Roxas yelped in pain. He hoped he wasn't bleeding too badly. He retaliated with the swordlike key again, this time causing it to glow bluish white and disappear, leaving behind pieces of paper that fluttered down to the ground.

"The photos!" Roxas said. Wait...I can say "photos" now! he thought. So that strange thing really was the thief. He looked down to the key and saw more rings of light swirl around it, and it disappeared entirely, leaving no trace of either it or the Struggle bat. Roxas sighed and clenched his fist. What was that?

He shook his head and looked at the ground, where the pictures had landed. He picked them up and headed back to confer with the gang.

888

The rest of them had gathered at the usual spot after losing the trail of the dusky creature. Roxas headed in, holding up the pictures triumphantly. Almost instantly they had gathered around, examining the photos.

"What's this?" Hayner said, looking at the first one. The picture showed Roxas and Mr. Sanxay next to the armor shop.

"I was his first customer after he took over the shop," Roxas explained. "So we took a picture together."

"It's a really nice photo," Olette complemented. "Oh...!" she suddenly exclaimed, touching her throat.

"Hey! You just said 'photo'!" Pence said.

"So, Roxas -- tell us about the picture thief," Hayner said, waving one hand energetically. Roxas paused and looked at his feet.

"Not much to say. The pictures were just lying there," Roxas said slowly, looking down.

"Then how do we prove we weren't the ones who took 'em?" Hayner said, waving his hand off to the side. He sighed, and looked at a picture of Roxas standing next to Jemse. "It's a giiirl..." he said, chuckling.

"You look happy, Roxas," said Olette, smiling.

"Do not," said Roxas firmly, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"So, like..." Pence said. "Anybody else notice that all the stolen pictures are of Roxas?"

"Ohh," Olette said. "So that's why everyone thought it was us."

"You mean Seifer didn't go around accusing us after all?" Hayner said softly. Well, for Hayner, anyway. Roxas stood up.

"Are they...really all of me?" Roxas asked slowly.

"Yep," Pence replied, handing Roxas another photo, this one with Roxas standing next to the candy shop owner. "See?"

"Look," said Olette, showing a picture of Seifer's gang in the sandlot.

"Right?" said Pence, showing a picture of the group in front of the old manor gates. "Every single one." He scratched his chin. "Wouldn't it be weird if the thief wanted to steal the real Roxas or something?"

"C'mon, get serious," Hayner laughed. "Why would anyone wanna steal a bonehead like Roxas?"

"Oh, thanks," said Roxas. Everyone laughed.

The sound of a train could be heard. Everyone looked toward where it was coming from, then walked out. Roxas stayed behind for a few moments before following.

As he walked out of the back alley where the usual spot was, the sunlight glared into his eyes, and he raised his hand to shield them.

The world went black.

"Where...am I? Who's there? Who are you?"

888

_Restoration at twelve percent._

888

A man clothed in a red turban and multiple red-and-black robes stared into the numerous blue-white computer screens in front of him as his assistant, hooded in a dark black cloak, stepped towards him.

"Organization miscreants... They've found us," the man said without turning around.

"But...why would the Nobodies steal photographs?" the assistant said.

"Both are nothing but data to them," the man said, still focusing on the bright blue computer screens, which were flashing various data and text. "The fools could never tell the difference." He paused. "We are running out of time. Naminé must make haste."

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the prologue so far. What did you think of the dream sequence? I tried to create a feeling of disjointed thoughts and surreality. Also, I appreciate constructive criticism.


End file.
